Walks in your mountains

Mountain environment allows a large range of leisure and sporting activities.Water is everywhere with Annecy Lake, mountain lakes and numerous full of fish rivers.First activity for mountain lovers : hiking. Les Aravis’ area offers you a large choice of all skill level walks, whether in high - or middle mountain, or in plateau areas. The less athletic persons will walk on the high plateau (Les Glières, Beauregard from where you will admire the Mont Blanc chain), around the lakes or through the Aravis pass. Good hikers will walk up to la Tournette, le Charvin, la Pointe Percée, Jalouvre, Aravis valleys (Tardevant, le Trou de la Mouche, Paccali, la Grande Forclaz…).Animal fans will watch out for wild mountain goats in la Colombière’ or la Tournette pass.We leave at your disposal indoors, information sheets about different walks, and French IGN maps you can take with you. The most athletic persons will ride downhill with mountain bikes, or practice free or via ferrata climbing.Sporting activities belong to a way of living together, sharing lunch in a mountain refuge or snacks served in the farms, attending village festivities.

Snowshoeing hikes in the Aravis

Snowshoeing is a recent practice in les Aravis. It came up thanks to the snowshoes makers, the leader of which (TSL) is located at Alex, just a few kilometers from Thones. This new activity meets tourists’ and skiers’ expectations, wishing to discover a wilder nature alone or in groups, and widening their fields of interest.

Heritage

While walking, you’ll discover the Haute-Savoie heritage.
-Little villages with 18th century chalets around a chapel
-Baroque churches with Italian artists made altarpieces, la Haute Savoie belonging to the Sardinian Kingdom.
-Monasteries symbolizing the church’s power
-Castles still owned by noble Haute-Savoie families.Rural life is still very present, the “Abondance” cows’ herds (giving the “Abondance cheese”) graze in the pastures, the “Reblochon cheese” is still made in the farms ; you can taste it in the mountain inns or Aravis refuges.